Trump says he will withdraw nomination of Musk associate Jared Isaacman to lead NASA | WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced late Saturday that he is withdrawing the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, an associate of Trump adviser Elon Musk, to lead NASA,

saying he reached the decision after a "thorough review" of Isaacman's "prior associations."

It was unclear what Trump meant and the White House did not immediately respond to an emailed request for an explanation.

"After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA," Trump wrote on his social media site. "I will soon announce a new

Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space."

Trump announced in December during the presidential transition that he had chosen Isaacman to be the space agency's next administrator. Isaacman, 42, has been a close collaborator with Musk

ever since buying his first chartered flight on Musk's SpaceX company in 2021.

He is the CEO and founder of Shift4, a credit card processing company. He also bought a series of spaceflights from SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk. SpaceX has extensive

contracts with NASA.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved Isaacman's nomination in late April and a vote by the full Senate was expected soon.

Musk appeared to lament Trump's decision after the news broke earlier Saturday, posting on the X site that, "It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted."